SBI Chairman sees double-digit corporate loan growth in FY26, ₹7 lakh cr credit in pipeline

File photo: SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty

With the pick-up in economic activity, State Bank of India (SBI) is seeing a clear revival in corporate credit demand and expects the segment to achieve double-digit growth over the remaining two quarters of the current financial year, according to the bank’s Chairman C S Setty.

Regarding the corporate credit pipeline, Setty highlighted that SBI has substantial loan sanctions totaling approximately ₹7 lakh crore. This includes a combination of unutilised working capital limits and term loans currently being disbursed.

The chairman noted that corporate credit growth, which had been sluggish for some time, showed signs of recovery with a 7.1% increase during the second quarter. With ongoing economic improvement and rising working capital utilisation, he anticipates lower double-digit growth in corporate lending during the remaining quarters.

Setty confirmed that SBI may not require additional equity capital to sustain credit growth, maintaining its strategy to hold a Capital to Risk Asset Ratio of 15% and a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 12%. The bank’s recent ₹25,000 crore Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) in July – the largest in Indian capital markets – supports this stance.

The bank plans to raise another ₹12,500 crore through Tier II bonds this year, primarily to replace maturing debt instruments. Setty expressed confidence in achieving the bank’s 3% net interest margin guidance, even if the Reserve Bank of India implements a 25-basis point repo rate cut in its upcoming monetary policy meeting.

Eyes on upcoming RBI MPC meet

While describing the December 5 policy decision as a “close call”, Setty indicated SBI’s internal assessment leans toward a potential 0.25% rate reduction. He emphasized that any such modest cut would likely have minimal impact on the bank’s margins. Recent statements from RBI officials acknowledging potential room for rate reductions have increased market expectations ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

Published on November 30, 2025